Making the Days Count
by Silvia Specter
Summary: Serena and her friends all are heading for college but there's one problem. Serena doesn't have a place to live in until Andrew offers to share his apartment. Again, there's a problem. This time, it's Andrew's other roommate. SerenaDarien and co.
1. Default Chapter

HIIIIII!!! Welcome to the first chapter of my second story!!!! Welcome to "Making the Days Count" by me, Silvia Specter! First of all, I would like to start out with a yay!!! For all those who are reading this and also to say that…umm..the names aren't very original, as in I didn't think of them first (I had a brain freeze while I was thinking of this story) and so if someone else invented or created them, please don't get mad!!!! Think of it as a compliment!!! You're creation was so good, other writers are using it!!! And now I'll shut up and let you get on with the show!!! 

One more thing: **The places I describe in the story are places I have never been to in my life up till now…So I won't be accurate on the descriptions…. And by the way, Darien has known Serena since she was 13 in this story!!!**

DISCLAIMER: I WOULD DIE TO MAKE SAILOR MOON MINE, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE…I'M NOT DEAD SO DON'T SUE…lol…

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She walked into the 'Cafe Java' and looked around. It was a decent place, with its bamboo wood structures and the aroma of java floating in the air. She looked around for a niche in the corner or even something that resembled a speck of the Crown Arcade, her childhood place of fond memories and ….Serena practically growled. And Darien. There was a clattering of forks and knifes and the rustling of sugar bags being emptied into high energy drinks but that wasn't the same as the swirling of milk shakes and the chatter of children and games. She ended up picking the booth in back corner, right next to the busy road of Elm St. 

In her mind, she picked a rhythm and starts to tap her fingers to it. _Tap tappity tap tap tap tappity tap tap tap tappity tap tap…_

"Serena!!!" called out a voice. Serena raised her head, gave a cry of laughter and jumped out of her seat. Ami laughed as the blonde swirl attacked her with a bear hug. After prying Serena off her, they both slid into the seats. Serena locked her fingers together and leaned over the bamboo table. "So Ami."

Ami finished putting her handbag to the side. "What?"

"Sooo?"

"Well, Rei said she was going to be a little late and – "

"No, Ami! About Zack. Sooo?"

Ami, although being Zack's girlfriend for almost two years, blushed and shook her head. Serena sighed for her pal. "He still hasn't proposed, huh?"

Ami gave a mock sniff of dignity and said, "It's a good thing anyway. Getting engaged during education is not a good time to –"

Serena jumped up and hugged to two approaching women. "Mina! Lita! It's been forever since I've seen you guys!"

Mina gave a giggle and hugged her back. "I'm so happy to see you Serena! We missed you so much over the summer!"

Serena rolled her eyes. "Right. Like your boyfriends aren't occupying your time."

Lita took Serena's arm and dragged her back to the table. She looked around the cafe in amusement. "Nice choice, Ami."

"Well, I know it isn't the best place but I couldn't think of another place at the last minute."

Serena scooted of the seats and went to order them drinks. Mina leaned in and whispered, "When are we going to tell her?"

Lita hushed her and said, Definitely not now. We just came back and we don't want to get her all over us about it."

Ami grinned. "She will no matter when we tell her."

Ami, Lita, Rei, and Mina had all spent their summer before college with their boyfriends, who went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a very spectacular college choice to get admission into. Serena, who still was single and complained about it everyday, had to spend vacation with her parents in Hawaii, which all in all, wasn't too bad. It was a good thing that they all were accepted into New Haven University or they wouldn't even have been able to talk to each other until winter vacation. Now that they came back, they were all dying to meet Serena, partly out of guilt for leaving her out of things. 

Serena came back with the java drinks in a large cup holder. Right as she was placing down the drinks, a flash of black almost tripped over her and onto flat onto the ground. The woman straightened out and then, calmly fixed her hair. "Hey guys," she said with a brilliant smile. "Have I missed anything?"

Serena jumped on Rei, and gave her another one of her hugs. Rei blew a strand of hair from her face as she hugged her friend back. "Of course. I missed the Serena hug."

The blonde stuck her tongue out and shoved Rei into one of the seats. She handed each one of them their drink, giving her own to Rei. "I'll get one for myself later. So tell me about your summer!"

Mina and Lita burst into description with Ami and Rei were contented to just listen.

"It was amazing, Serena!"  
"Too bad you didn't come!"

"One day, Zack and Ami were actually coming to the night club with us, which is unbelievable."

"You should have seen her. She was gorgegous. And Zack was a handsome man himself –"

"Michael gave me the most romantic dinner I've ever had. It was all candle light and classical music –"

"Oh you don't know what romantic is until you talk about Nick. His skills with grill is amazing!"

"Oh! I just crack up remembering this. Remember, Rei, when Jason was in his bathing suit and he got into the water…*cackle* oh god, it was hilarious!"

Serena watched on with fascination as her two close friends described in detail their summer with Ami and Rei cutting in once in a while. She laughed at their jokes and wondered at their reminiscence with them but she felt hurt on not being able to share their memories. She scolded herself silently. You don't have to be there to share everything, Serena, you idiot. Let them have some room. By the end of an hour, the chatter ceased to a comfortable silence. Rei placed a hand over Serena's. She looked into her eyes with a smile. "But believe us when we say that we missed you, Serena. It would have been a blast if you would have come."

Serena smiled back but she knew she couldn't have gone even if she wanted to. They all had boyfriends. She didn't have anyone but them. When they went on their romantic dinners, what was Serena supposed to do? She shook her head slightly. Not the time to think about all that. She cheered up and asked, "Well, roomies. Where are we going to bunk together?"

Everyone stopped sipping their coffee. Rei shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Ami found sudden interest in the construction of the bamboo table. Lita and Mina glared at the two of them before sighing. "I guess it's up to us to tell you."

Serena kept the smile on her face. "Tell me what?"

"We found a large condo."

"That's wonderful! Where is it? I'm dying to move out of the hotel. It's getting so stuffy in there," Serena ended with a wince. She could picture her hotel suite right now. With clothes and underwear hidden in randome places and books scattered on the floor with precision. 

Mina gave a small giggle…or she tried to. "It's right on Forbes St."

Serena nodded her head, urging her to go on. "Well…it is a beautiful condominium. It has a large kitchen and living/ dining room area. It's two and a half bathrooms. A beautiful view into the park behind us…"

Serena's smile became wider and wider…

"And it had a few restaurants here and there…close by, you know…"

"Uh huh…"

"Andithasfourteenyweenybedroomsinwhichonlyonepersoncanoccupy."

Her smile was still there. "What?"

"ithasfourteenyweenybedroomsthat-"

"I got that Mina!"

Serena frowned. "Well that's not fair to one of us. We just have to find a bigger place, you guys. I don't want anyone of us left out!"

Ami choked up and tried to busy herself with the handbag. Serena looked at her quizzically. "What's up, Ami?"

"Uhh..tissue..I need tissue..stupid cold you know…"

"I can get some for you, hun."

"No no..these are..uh…special ones.."

Serena turned back to Lita and frowned. "That isn't fair though, Lita. We can't use stick one ourselves onto the couch for the next few years. That would be horible!" Serena chuckled at the imagine of herself groaning as she woke up every morning with a hell of a back pain. Ami was now fumbling with everything inside her purse. Rei inwardly rolled her eyes at her fidgety friend. Ami was as calm as a rock when it came to emergency situations but she was just too shaky when it came to lying and …well, not being the one thrown out.

Serena looked at Ami with concern. "It's no problem to go get some for you, Ami."

" No…No…just for my allergies…where are they…heh..heh.."

"I didn't know you had allergies."

"I don't! I mean…of course I do! ….."

"You do? Since when?"

"Uhh…since…DAMN IT! Where are the TISSUES!?"

Everyone in the cafe started at the obviously agitated girl. Mina leaned away from the blue haired girl out of caution. Then it dawned on Serena. She gently asked, "Ami, are you worried about being left out?"

Ami, startled, stopped moving. "…What?"

"Ami, if you feel that way, you should stop it, right now," Serena said with her most decisive voice. "We have a motto: Never leave a friend behind –"

Mina broke in nervously, "We never really had a motto like _that_ one, Serena." 

Serena glared at the blonde girl. "_As I was saying_, don't worry Ami. We'll all stick together and find a better place. One that's good for all of us –"

Rei mumbled something like, "The whole area is packed and the other places are way above our heads in rent."

Serena sighed. "You guys give up too easily." She turned back to Ami who was watching her with guilty eyes. "If worse comes to worse, I can just go find another place, but hey, that'll never happen in a million years. We all stick together, right guys?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Guys? We stick together… right?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"About that finding another place to live…"

Serena's smile faltered. "What?"

Lita looked at her sheepishly. "We, as in Mina, Ami, Rei, and I decided to take up the condo."

Serena pointed to herself as if unable to open her mouth. She looked like a fish with a bloated stomach at the moment. Mina nervously played with her hair. "And you, Serena…will have to live with someone else…heh…"

Serena felt as if she was kicked in the stomach. "You don't want me to live you guys?"

Rei hurried to say, "No, no Serena! That's not it! There is no other place out here to get that is as good as what we have right now and we can't afford to spend time to find another place anyway."

Serena felt the shock leaving her. Ami winced…oh, boy…here it comes…

"Whhhhaaaaaat??? What did I ever do to yoooooooou??? How can you be so meeeeeaaaaan!!!?? WAAAAAAAAAaahhhh!!"

Now the whole cafe was staring at them once again, some muttering curse words as their pleasant morning was being ruined. Rei tried to hide her face with a napkin. 

"How could you guuuuys??"

Lita frantically interrupted, "We're not being mean, Serena!"

"It's so hooooorible!!! WAAAAAAAaaaaah!!!" Serena grabbed a napkin and blew into it loudly. Mina winced. "Serena, come on! Listen to us!"

"WAAAAAAaaaaah!!!!"

"We found you a place to live!" shouted Lita, getting irritated. Serena immediately stopped and sniffled. "You…did? So you change your mind?"

Mina sweat dropped. "No, Serena."

Serena pouted. "So this is what you guys do over the summer. Plot against me! Why don't you just throw me out onto the street just for the kicks, huh?"

Ami turned pleading eyes to her. "Come on, Serena. You know that's not true."

Serena raised her chin. "So where's this place for me?"

Mina grinned. "That's the good part, Serena. Since you couldn't stay with us (stop pouting, Serena), we found a friend in the area who would be happy to take you in."

"You make it sound like I'm a damn puppy or something. 'take me in'," she scoffed. "Well, who is it?"

"Remember Andrew Leake?"


	2. MTDC Chapter 2

Hey people!! Welcome to the second chapter of 'Making the Days Count' *** **voice booms over speaker* umm…I don't really have many author notes other than the fact that if you sue me, you'll lose more money than you'll gain and uh….an American average chocolate bar has about eight spider legs in it : ) 

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Serena lifted her suitcase out the elevator and let out a huff as it immediately thumped back onto the floor. She groaned as she dragged the case of bricks while trying to read the door numbers at the same time. 81_6…818…820…_Bingo! 822. She pulled herself up into front of the door and raised her hand but paused in mid-air. Was she sure about this? How was she going to act around Andrew? She hadn't seen him in almost six years! What was she going to say? Hey Andrew! This is Serena? Remember me, the little teenager who had a never ending crush on you and stalked you every day in the arcade? She shook her head. Then she grinned. If only her dad found out that she was staying with a male roommate, even worse, two male roommates. His dusty shotgun would be out in a flash. She finally built up her nerve and knocked firmly on the door. It made no sound. She sweat-dropped. I need to exercise more. This time she knocked harder. It made a sound but no one answered the door. Was no one home yet? Her eyes widened with worry. How long was she going to have to wait? Were they on vacation still? She checked out of her hotel this morning! She couldn't find another one on such short notice! Maybe she could wait in the lounge downstairs. But for how long? Her eyebrows crinkled with worry. Serena raised her hand to knock again when the sound of a click was heard through the door. Then it opened to reveal the one of the sexiest guys she had ever seen. 

Her jaw dropped open. "Andrew?" 

Andrew's eyes twinkled with laughter. "You might want to close your jaw there, Serena." With that said, he scooped her in his arms for a giant hug. Recovering from her shock, Serena laughed and hugged back. When she was let down, she took a step back and pretended to look him over. "Not looking to bad, Andrew."

"I could say the same for you! You look so much more cuter than when you were fourteen," he added with a grin and an awkward pat on the head. Serena gave him a mock frown but sighed inwardly. She was always going to be a cute little teenage girl to him, and more likely a sister than a prospect. It was no use anyway. She found out from the girls that Andrew was already taken and that he was, unfortunately, happy with the current girlfriend. Andrew looked over her shoulder, which wasn't so hard to accomplish, Serena being a little shorter than 5 feet and 7 inches and Andrew being a little taller than 6 feet. "Is that all you have, Serena?"

She looked at him sheepishly. "Umm… I have one or two more bags down in the lounge. I was going to bring them up here after –"

"You know what? Don't worry about it. Why don't you make yourself at home and I'll go get them for you. It's _okay_, Serena. You _can_ come in."

By impulse, she stuck her tongue out and quickly drew it back in, blushing. He chuckled before shoving her inside and leaving for the elevator. Although he seemed comfortable, Serena felt slightly uneasy about the whole arrangement. She slowly moved her bag into the immensely large apartment. The walls were cream colored and from what Serena could see, it was spotless all around. The Kitchen was in the right corner and expanded right next to the living room. The kitchen had marble flooring and it was all of polished wood and glass. The living room held a set of plush green couches and an enormous stereo and television system. How could Andrew and his roommate afford such rich tastes? They were only college students! Opposite the kitchen was the dining room and in front of it was the glass door to the balcony. She carefully placed her suitcase next to the large couch and walked towards the balcony before she realized to remove her shoes. With quick little steps back to the door, as if someone was following her, she quickly removed her shoes and tried to wipe any signs of dirt from the carpet. Any sign of dust seemed out of place in this airy place. It was then that she noticed the door to the left and recognized it as a door to a bedroom. 

Serena looked at the front door and then back to the bedroom door. It wouldn't hurt to take a peak would it? It wasn't like she was going to drag any dirt in there, she argued. As soon as one foot directed itself towards the bedroom, she heard the doorknob rattle and in entered Andrew. He had a skeptical look on his face. "One or two more bags, Serena? You have your whole house out in the lounge!" Serena grinned and shrugged while Andrew huffed and went back out the door to carry all her luggage in. She mentally counted the bags as he dragged them into the apartment. Three duffel bags with clothes, two cardboard boxes with all her favorite books inside, one suitcase with fancy clothes and umm…underwear, a small kit with make up, hygiene, and accessories, a shopping bag with stylish handbags…and that was it! With the suitcase she had dragged up, that was a total of…nine bags. She flashed Andrew a bright smile and thanked him. 

"That smile reminds me of the days you used to come into Crown Arcade and brighten up every time you saw a milk shake. And remember the video games you loved? Ever beat the top score in Sailor Venus?"

Serena gave a sniff and held her head high. "You make it sound like I was a ..a puppy waiting for a treat. And yes, I actually did beat the top score." Then she felt slightly sad. "And you weren't there to see it."

Andrew gave an encouraging smile. He walked up to her and gave her a little bop on the nose. Serena groaned inside. He used to do that when she was twelve! "No, Serena. You were a perfectly normal girl with a lot of sparkle in you that's all. You're just able to enjoy every small thing in life."

He grabbed a black jacket from the coat hanger and beckoned her. "To celebrate your victory in Crown Arcade, why don't we go out for a little ice cream?"

Serena gaped. "Are you crazy? It's freezing out there!" She motioned to the wild winds waiting for them out side the balcony. Andrew scrunched up his face in thought. "What about some nice hot pizza?"

She was completely for that idea. She hugged herself to capture whatever warmth could be captured and walked over with Andrew, out into the cold streets, for some heart warming, high calorie pizza.

~~~~~~

Rei paced over the same area again and again. She turned to face the others to say something. Ami and Lita were watching her intently while Mina raced to finish the last of the popcorn. Rei, annoyed by the loud cruching, said, "Mina…too much popcorn isn't good for you. And think of all that butter and fats!"

Mina stopped chewing and frowned at Rei as best she could with all the popcorn still in her mouth. Lita rolled her eyes and motioned for Rei to continue. Rei turned to them and asked, "Well, we managed to get Serena into Andrew's apartment. Now what?"

Lita shrugged. "I guess we could wait and see what happens. I mean, we don't know what to do yet, with school about to start and homework ready to pile up again." Everyone, even Ami, blanched that the idea. The summer had made them into lazy butts and they weren't ready to accept school back into their lives yet. It was impeding doom. Ami rationally voiced her opinion. "I agree with Lita. There is nothing else we can do at the moment. All we can do is wait. By the way, does Andrew know about the plan?"

Mina shook her head. "I don't think so. Maybe he got the gist of it…"

"He couldn't be that thick headed. We jumped on his offer as soon as we found out who his roommate is."

"Think of the look on Serena's face when she finds out. Imagine the look of horror and surprise."

Rei rolled her eyes. "That's what she pretends to feel. You know as well I as do that it was just childish flirting going on between them. It's like trying to get two asses together. Neither with budge an inch, therefore being the cause of exhaustion for the rest of us."

Lita nodded with complete agreement. She announced, "Serena should be thankful that we're even doing this for her. I mean, would anyone else even think of such a brilliant idea?" For emphasize, she grabbed the popcorn bowl from Mina's lap and slammed it onto the table. Everyone grinned and for pleasure, looked around their condo for the millionth time. It was classy and had a touch of modern style to it, pleasing all four of the girls. It wasn't gigantically huge but it was more than enough space than what the girls needed. 

Mina grinned. "She would kill us if she found out what this place looked like."

~~~~~~

Serena gave Andrew a smug smile. "The girls would kill me if they found out what your place looked like."

Andrew took the pizza from the counter and sat next to one of the available seats. The restaurant was like mini diner, not only with pizza but also Italian and French food. More like a Sbarro restaurant. Andrew handed he a piece in a paper plate before biting into his own. After using some time for considerate chewing, he said, "Well, now it's more like both of our apartment. Not just mine and Da-" He quickly took a bite before finishing his sentence. She apparently didn't notice for all her concentration was on the cheese sagging down from the slice. Andrew watched with amusement as she tried to capture some of it into her mouth. "How's Crown Arcade without me? Is Lizzy doing a good job?"

Serena managed to eat the cheese and pondered. "It's definitely not the same without you but your sister is trying really hard to keep it clean. These days, there is this new group of kids and everyday they have nothing damn better to do than try and cause havoc. Lizzy's very firm with them though. She tells them what's what whenever she gets a hand on them. Other than that…it's pretty much the same. No more milk shakes on the house though." Serena gave a small grin. "Your sister thinks that you spoiled me too much."

Andrew nodded. It was the same stuff his sister had told him in her phone calls and letters. With a chuckle he promised to have a word with her later. Now Serena asked, "How's Rita?"

Andrew looked at her, surprised. "How do you know about that?"

"Mina and Lita told me. They wasn't very happy about it though," she added with a giggle. Andrew looked wary. "They had their own boyfriends now! Still the same duo, huh?"

"Yep. So tell me about Rita."

Andrew took another bite and stared into space with thoughtful eyes. "She had long brown hair with a few highlights. Her eyes are warm brown colored and her face is…perfect." 

Serena rolled her eyes. "Skip the mushy stuff, Andrew."

"Oh…well, why didn't you say so? She has a great personality. You would make friends with her pretty easily. She loves manga too, you know. Her hobbies are tennis and bug collecting." He saw Serena choke on her food and scowled. "It's not my favorite thing either. Anyway, she's always happy and ….boisterous, I guess. Kind of like you. Although, sometimes she can be shy."

Serena smiled at the look on Andrew's face as he pictured his girlfriend. "She's out in Africa now. On one of her expeditions, you know. She loves archeology. Plans to set her future in that path."

There was a small silence.

"Do you support that?"

He looked slightly insulted. "Of course I do. Granted, I don't get to see her often but if that's where her heart lies, then I'm behind her one hundred percent." He closed his eyes and placed his hand over his heart, ending with a dramatic pose.

Serena rolled her eyes and finished off her second slice. "You are so romantic, Andrew."

He winked. "That's why all the girls love me. You want another slice?"

Serena shook her head. "I actually had a small lunch on the way to your – our- place. I'm pretty full now."

"Same here. We'll take it back and maybe Da- I mean, my roommate might want to have some."

Serena wrinkled her eyebrows in question as she slid from her seat. "Tell me about your roommate. You haven't even mentioned anything about him yet."

Andrew gave her a quick smile and a nudge towards the exit. "He'll probably be back right now. He's an intern for this huge medical research project and that's why he comes home later than I do. I'm just a lazy butt when it comes to extracurricular projects and such."

Serena gave him a playful nudge. "Wow. This guy sounds smart. Any chance of hooking us two up, Andrew? Come on…"

Andrew grinned inwardly. "Maybe. We'll see. He has this girl right now but he says that they're only 'close friends'. Too bad I saw this close friend cuddling too much with him one night."

Serena laughed and sat in Andrew's Porsche. "Granted, he didn't seem to comfortable about it, though. We'll see, Serena. Maybe you guys can hook up."

Serena smirked. "I was just playing around, Andrew. I mean, he must be about your age, right? That's like, four or five years older than me." She gave a strong shake of the head as if signaling that it was too much of an age difference. Andrew backed up the car and drove it into the road.   
"You make it sound like he's too old for you, Serena."

"Isn't he?"

"I remember when you had a crush on me ever since you were twelve until the day I left the arcade. I was older than you back then to, you know."

Serena gasped. "Nuh uh, Andrew! That's not true!"

Andrew laughed. "No way you can deny it now, Serena! I know you're blushing."

Serena gave him a playful smack on the shoulder before huffing and crossing her arms. "It's not true."

"That's not what Rei told me."

"Rei told you? How could she?" she growled with annoyance.

Andrew smirked. "Ha. Gotcha. So you admit it."

"NO."

"Whatever you say, Serena." And so, he continued to tease her all the way back to the complex.

~~~~~~

He impatiently opened the front door and walked in without looking up. The research paper was due in a week and he was pepping himself to the week ahead, full of shit called homework. He muttered a few words now and then from the article he was reading, removing his shoes swiftly and efficiently while balancing on one foot at a time, still managing to catch a few phrases from the paper. Throwing up his coat onto the hanger with precision, he walked over towards the couch. What he didn't expect was the pile of luggage blocking the way to the large couch. He startled as he tripped clumsily over a small kit of a kind and toppled over a large suitcase in the process. The items scattered around as he tried to balance himself and but in vain. He finally toppled over the couch and banged his knee into the glass table. After a pause to recollect himself, a string of curses flew from his mouth. No wonder. He was an idiot. The new roommate was coming to stay with them today. And judging from the pink and blue baggage, it was a female roommate. He sat up and rubbed his knee. If it was a male, he had some _serious _issues with gender confidence. Pink bunnies on small make-up kits wasn't exactly a guy's dream. Pink bunnies…who did that remind him of? He shook his hair into place and grabbed the fallen article from the couch. Damn. Why did it have to be so long? He was studying in the Yale New Haven Medical Center with a sponsoring scientist. They worked together on lab rats, testing different variations of specific chromosomes concerning diabetes. Normally, he was able to finish work on a timed schedule but with all the extra work from the research center and the stalking of a lunatic, not much work was being done. 

He leaned his head against the couch and gave out a growl of frustration. And now with an extra roommate, he doubted that his pace would get any better. Then it hit him. Pink bunnies. Meatball head. An involuntary grin cracked on his face. He remembered her obsession with bunnies and her cat. She used to always talk with her cat, as if it could understand her. Whenever he teased her about it, she would flush and tell him to go away. What if the roommate was Meatball head? Darien vehemently shook his head. There was a one in a million chance of that happening. And also, she would definitely be a nuisance to have around. He grinned again. Too much ice cream would cover up the dining table. With another feeling of resignation, he tuned his attention onto the article. Diabete was an increasing problem in society. _Many, especially adolescents, had Type 1 while others had Type 2. Pregnant women are sometimes in risk of gestational diabetes, although_…he had already read all this at the door. As he scanned to where he left off, he didn't hear the door click as it opened.

~~~~~~

Andrew noticed the intense look of concentration on his roommate's face. He signaled Serena to be silent and she nodded in comprehension. They silently walked into the place and Andrew carefully shut the door with a soft click. His roommate still didn't look up. Serena immediately knew that this man was taller than herself, more of Andrew's height. He had silky black hair that was cut off at the top of the neck. Although she couldn't see his face and his whole body, she recognized the look of a person who exercised a whole lot more than she did. He was looking down at a packet, studying with diligence. 

Serena then recognized her luggage scattered all over the living room and glowered. Couldn't the man be a little more careful of where he was walking? Absolutely no respect at all! She almost gasped at the sight of her flattened duffel bag, now more of a pancake than a cylinder. Serena, a little ticked off, took of her coat and turned to hang it on the rack when Andrew startled her.

"Hey, Darien meet our new roommate."

Serena froze and didn't turn away from the rack, her back facing…Darien. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. This is not true. She quickly pinched herself and yelped. She gulped. It was true. She was sharing an apartment for the next few years with Darien. Maybe there were other Dariens around the area. Yeah right, Serena, like your luck goes so far. She forgot to turn around, but stood facing the rack.

Darien looked at her back with concern and interest at the same time. Wow. She had one heck of a body. She was wearing flare jeans that hugged her never ending legs and a loose silk blouse on top. Her hair was almost as long as her legs, although it was in a pony tail at the moment, sunny blonde with highlights in the right places. Unfortunately, she didn't turn around so that he could see her face. He looked at Andrew in concern who was grinning from ear to ear. 

"Is she okay, Andrew?" 

Andrew breezily waved his hand, shooing away Darien's worry. "She's alright. Just a little…nervous."

Andrew forcefully grabbed Serena's shoulders and spun her around. Serena immediately covered her face, her face as red as a cheery. She refused to see Darien sitting on the couch. It's just a dream, Serena. It's just a dream.

Now Darien was really concerned, especially with Andrew sweat-dropping and trying to tug the poor girl's hands of her face, with no success. Darien stood up and frowned at his friend. 

"Geesh, Andrew. Give her a break. Maybe she's just shy." He walked up to the obviously timid girl. Andrew gave Darien a small smirk. "Trust me, it's definitely not that."

Darien rolled his eyes, and managed to sound pleasant when he said, "Hi. I'm Darien and I'll be your roommate. And you are…?"

He heard a mumble through the hands. "Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"Mebahay ywork."

Darien looked at Andrew again, who was still grinning from ear to ear. He actually looked like he was going to burst from laughter. "Could you say that again? With the hands this time," he joked, trying to make her feel comfortable. 

Serena gave a small cry of frustration. Why her? Then she snarled. Her friends were in this. And so was Andrew. Andrew knew all along! This was all a conspiracy against her! Why don't they just feed her to an alligator while they were at it? She would get them back, fair and square. They set her in the same apartment with the guy who teased her for two whole years. Almost everyday at the arcade, they would met and words would fly, either at each other or at innocent passers who had stopped to watch the show, as it was a daily series of a soap opera. Oooh, yeah. They were going to pay. Maybe she should cut their hair off or something when they were sleeping. Sleep with one eye open guys, she thought angrily, and maybe you'll see the scissors. She finally removed her hands and stared straight into the face of her childhood enemy. 

"Meatball head, you jerk."


	3. MTDC Chapter 3

Ohh….Poor Serena..what is going to do?!?!?!? WHAT?!?!? WHAT?!?!?!?! *calms down and pauses before looking around secretly * let's find out….dum da dum dum duuummmmmmmmm by the way, who here watches Monk the Series? It's an AWESOME show…people all over the world should watch it…lol…now onto the story!!!

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Serena fumed furiously at the carpeting on the apartment's floor as Darien stared at her, his jaw almost an inch away from the ground. Andrew retained his smile as he watched Serena trying to not run away while Darien just stared her at. Andrew had an amusing glint in his eye. Yes, Darien, soak in her beauty. After all, Serena was a sexy woman. If Rita was there, she would first kill him before turning friendly eyes onto Serena. Like a moronic person, he pointed at her, turned an aggravated face towards Andrew and looked back at Serena. 

"…Meatball head…?"

Serena narrowed her eyes as she raised her head to face him. It was like she was prepping herself for the rodeo challenge. "Yes, Darien. It's me Meatball head aka Serena…surprised?"

"The hell _I AM_! It's like my nightmare's alive!"

"What, you finally looked in the mirror?"

She folded her arms across under her chest and stood in a defiant manner. Darien almost choked as he eyes momentarily trailed down from her face. He quickly shut his eyes and shook his head. No. It was Meatball head, not some other…sexy female…who he didn't not want to know. He opened her eyes again and looked back at her. Damn. It was real. He heard her mutter, "Been there, done that…"

Darien ran his hand through his hair before turning accusing eyes towards Andrew. He soon received back up from his enemy. Andrew took a cautionary step back. Serena was the first to open her mouth. 

"It was bad enough that my so called friends _deserted_ me, and that you had _pity_ on me to take me in so that I wouldn't be homeless, but now…_now_ you tell me that he's the other guy? You've pulled me out of the boiling water and dropped me into the fire!"

"It's not like it's a bundle of joy to see _you_ every freakin' day of my life either Meatball head. I don't think you're even _normal_ for a human..."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"People are supposed to be smart creatures. I have my doubts about you…"

"Well you can take those doubts and _shove'em_ up your nose!"

Andrew tried, in vain, to cease the shots of verbal affront. "Guys, I really don't think –"

"Why not your head? There's enough space in there."

Again, Andrew was the target, this time being Darien's turn. "Why, Andrew? Have I ever done anything to you? Have I mistreated you? Have I made you pay too much of the half? What? _WHY_?"

Andrew held up his hands to ward the two stalking creatures away. "Guys. This really isn't the way to settle things. Serena didn't have a place to stay so her friends called me up and –"

Serena gasped, "They _forced you_ to take me in, didn't they? You're pretending to be nice aren't you? How could you, Andrew? What have I done to you? Do you want me to feel bad about the free milkshakes or something? Because I will and I have no –"

"Meatball head, I think it's the fact that _you stalked him_ everyday of your screwed up life."

Serena swirled around and faced him, less than a foot away from him. She pointed a finger at his chest and growled, "I did _NOT_ have a crush on him and my life was _NOT_ screwed up! At least I didn't wear ugly _costumes_ everyday to try and 'look cool'." She bent her first two fingers on both hands to emphasize the quote.

"Are you insulting my green jacket?" he glared at her, cursing her out in his head for having such nerve to butt into his life all of a sudden and then, actually have the _nerve_ to insult his clothing.

"At least I didn't show off my legs to anyone who would look."

"Trust me, if it were you, you would have scared the hell out of everyone, even the blind guys!"

Andrew, finally annoyed, yet amused, at their tirade, yelled, "That's it, you guys! No more! You both can be compared to a pack of damn mules when you get together."

"You're calling me a mule now, Andrew?" Serena asked, annoyed at his analogy. 

"He calls you as he sees you, Meatball head."

Andrew glared at Darien who just glared back. "Shut up, Darien. Now, both of you are my friends and I don't want this kind of thing happening everyday."

Darien straightened out his hair once more. "That won't be a problem, Andrew, because she is moving back out."

Serena gave out a huff. "You tell him, Andrew, that if he has any problems, that he could move out, because I'm staying." She could feel her toes digging into the carpet, as if trying to hold on to it. 

"No. I don't care what she says, Andrew. I will kick her out. I'll even find her a place. Hell, _I'll even pay for her rent_!"

Serena shrugged. "I don't mind that if he's paying for it…for the next four years…?"

Darien held out his hand. "Deal."

Serena almost grabbed it before Andrew cut in, shoving both of their arms out of the way. "Stop it, you freaks! Darien, you know you're going to regret what you are saying! And you know that this whole area is packed. Even if you found her a place far away, she doesn't have a car to get here!"

"She can ride the bus, Andrew!"

"It just won't work! How will she be able to pay for the whole apartment by herself? The dorms in her college are packed and her friends don't have enough space for her."

He heard Serena mutter, "Those asses. Not even a drop of pity."

Darien, on the other hand, looked desperate. "I said I'll give her the money!"

"You're going in circle! Stop it, man! Focus! FOCUS!" He grabbed Darien's shoulders and shook him hard. This was getting to be ridiculous! He hadn't expected it to turn out so badly but he supposed that they despised each other more than they let out. Or more than they pretended to hate each other…

"You said that it was okay that another roommate could move in. It shouldn't make much of a difference now!"

"But she's…she's like this freak of nature that never quits! She's not just any roommate!"

Serena's eyes widened in shock and anger. "Freak of nature? Freak of nature? _I'll show you who's a freak of nature_!" She started waving her fist over Andrew's shoulder until Andrew took it and shoved it down. She hissed and growled like a cat.

Andrew grabbed Serena's arms and shoved her towards the hallway. "You're room is the second on the right. You wait there while I bring in the luggage. Darien here will finish reading whatever and not come in your way. Go, Serena."

Darien looked insulted. "You act like I'm the bad guy here! _I'm_ supposed to stay out of _her_ way?"

His friend rolled his eyes. "Hhmm. Whatever would give me that idea…?"

Serena, although embarrassed about being sent to her room, she let out a triumphant laugh before daintily skipping over to her room. Ha. In his face! Andrew was going to let her stay and Darien couldn't do anything about it. She wouldn't leave if he had kicked her out anyway. If she had to live in this place with him, she wasn't going to take his attitude lying down. It was going to be mule against mule.

Darien watched her shut the door happily behind her and asked, dumbstruck, "…so she's staying?"

Andrew slowly nodded his head. "Yes, Darien…she is staying."

He let out a moan of frustration and threw up his hands. "Didn't you not even pay attention to the last ten minutes, Andrew? Did you blackout or something?"

"Just shut up and help me, Darien."

"You suck."

"I know."

~~~~~~

Andrew took a huge sip of his soda and coughed as he breathed at the same time. Rei patted him on the back. "Why didn't Serena come?"

All the girls, except Serena, and Andrew were sitting in a café in the afternoon of a mid-August day. Ami expressed her sympathy. "Is Serena ok, Andrew? Is she being all impossible?"

He shook his head and said, "No, it's not that. You guys really don't need to worry about her because she's her own person now, you know."

"We know. It's just that we worry about her."

He laughed and replied, "You should worry more about me than Serena. About an hour ago, she almost went crazy about meeting you guys and that's not meant in a good way. She almost cursed all of you all the way to your ancestors and then when I thought she finally agreed to come, she just went and locked herself in the bathroom. There was pleading and bribing and then when I realized I was late, I gave up and ran over here."

Lita grinned. "She's going to be the death of you, Andrew dear."

Andrew scowled. "Thanks for that tidbit. Let me go and get my coffin ready."

Ami said, "Come on, Andrew. It must be somewhat nice to have Serena there."

"True, true. She sure does brighten the day's routine. Ever since Rita left for Africa, I felt as if there wasn't anyone there. Darien was too busy with his work and so when Serena came, it livens up the day. I know its only been about two days since she's been staying with me but I'm feeling that my life, especially Darien's, is going to be changed a little."

Rei gave him a big smile. "We really appreciate what you're doing for us – for her – Andrew."

Andrew straightened out. "There's really no need for gratitude, Rei. Serena is like a little sister to me. I would have taken her no matter what. But I have one question to ask you guys…"

They all looked at him expectantly. 

"Was there any other reason for asking me to take her in?"

Mina and Lita grinned while Rei and Ami sweat-dropped. "Take a wild guess, Andrew."

"Does it have to do anything about a name that starts with a D and rhymes with Barien?"

"Ding ding ding. You win. How did ya ever guess?"

Andrew scoffed. "I'm not stupid. It wasn't only you guys who saw the little connections. Although, at the rate they're going, the sparks are going to fly with arrows, not love."

Ami frowned. "That doesn't sound too good. What happened between them?"

Mina giggled with pleasure and said, "Please tell me. I really want to hear this!"

Andrew took a deep breath and narrated the entire scene that had opened up between Serena and Darien. At the end, the girls were either worried with shock or chuckling in amusement. More like Ami being shocked and the rest being amused. Andrew felt his mouth curve up as well. "I suppose it is funny now that I think about it."

Rei took a sip of her soda and asked, "How did Darien behave today? Is he still pissed off? Did he threaten to drag her out?"

"I doubt Serena would let that happen. She looks so comfortable in her room that it would take a whole army to drag her out. But I suppose he's a little calm today because he gets to get away and back into the research center. Darien still refuses to talk to me though."

"I suppose this all will take time. I'm hoping it won't take too long though. I've seen how Serena looks at us with our boyfriends and I feel terrible for her," said Lita with a sigh. "I just want her to be completely happy too."

"That reminds me," said Andrew. "How are the guys doing? I would like to meet them soon."  
After talking for a while more, they all split up and headed their own way.

~~~~~~

Darien closed the door behind him and threw his jacket onto the rack. Today was an exhausting day for him at the center and he wanted to nap in peace. The couch looked warm and comforting, beckoning him with a sly finger. He felt his barriers shut down. Darien could resist anything but temptation right now and it was definitely getting the better of him. Resist, Darien, resist. You have work to do and you can't afford a nap. Before he knew it, his shoes where thrown in a pile, his papers dropped into the floor, and he ran over to the couch. With one huge leap, he managed to land on…Serena. 

Before he could stop himself he landed with a huge thud onto her body, consequently waking her up with a huge jolt. Serena gasped from the pressure of his body as he managed to hit her right in the center of her body. She looked up to see what happened.

"Arrrrgh!!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Darien tried to scramble off her but he his right foot managed to slide into a small space between the cushion and the arm of the sofa. Subconsciously, he held onto Serena's shoulders as he felt himself topple over onto the floor with a big twist. Serena was still in shock from being jerked out of her restful nap. She heard Darien curse as he banged his knee against the table. His arms had shifted from her shoulders and onto her…neck? Serena managed to collect herself and clambered off him. She stood up and glared at him as he shifted himself into a comfortable pose between the floor and the sofa. 

"What the hell are you trying to do, Darien? First you try to cave my ribs in and then you try to strangle me?"

Darien looked up at her and sighed. "Meatball head, if I was going to strangle you, I would have tired harder than that."

"That's what you say. Maybe you're just puny." She gave him an evil look. 

Darien supported himself on his elbows as he managed to look insulted. "Puny? You think I'm puny? Who was the one who fell every time you ran into me?"

"Whatever you say, Darien. Do you mind getting off the floor? I would like to resume my nap without having to accidentally step on anyone in my sleep."

Darien winced as he stood up. His knee was numb with pain and probably very bruised right now. After all, it was the same knee he hurt two days ago. She had only been here for two days, and he was already getting hurt. It was just as bad as her running into him every day of his life. "You're actually concerned for me, Meatball head?"

"No, I just don't want to be charged for attempted murder. Move, Darien."

"I'm not puny."

Serena rolled her eyes. "Sure you aren't. Just move for heaven's sake!"

Serena tried to push past him and onto the couch but he blocked her way. Leaning in, he wrapped an arm around her waist. Serena instinctively tried to pull back but his arm but he was too strong for her. She tried to push away from him with her arms but that didn't work either. He tightened his grip around her waist and pulled her in to his chest. Serena gulped as the hard feel of it. He whispered in her ear, "Do I feel puny now, Serena?"

For some reason, his words tingled her senses and her spine shivered with the feeling. She looked straight into his deep blue eyes and managed to croak out, "..N-no."

Darien was surprised at her nervousness. She looked like a deer caught in headlights from the expression on her face. Her really, really pretty face…snap out of it, Darien! Snap out of it! Was she actually affected by him? He tried not to grin as he whispered, "Give me the couch…"

Serena, again, muttered out something akin to a 'yes'. She was feeling a little too jittery at the moment and she had not a single reason as to why. As quickly as he had grabbed her, Darien pushed her away and flew onto the couch with a sigh of content. Serena idiotically stared as he wedged himself into a comfortable position and shut his eyes, pleased with his gain. 

She couldn't believe what just had happened. She growled in rage, only to make the smile on Darien's face wider. What the hell just happened? He took advantage of her jittery nerves and claimed the sofa for himself! What an ass! She almost slapped herself for her stupidity. Why couldn't you just shut up, Serena, before you said things that he had to feel like proving? Inside, she knew that he was anything but puny but noo, she had to open her trap. Her punishment - the removal from her haven. She huffed, let out a squeak of anger, and stomped to her room. 

Darien grinned as he heard the slam of her door. All of a sudden, his day was much brighter. He scowled. Now he was addicted to fighting with her again. If he won, then only would his day have some meaning. He was being childish again and it was all her fault, damn it! She brought out that side of him and it was all over a stupid couch. He had his own bed for god's sake…and she didn't. For a short moment, he felt pity for her loss of the couch but the feeling disappeared as soon as sleep overtook him. 

~~~~~~

Serena slowly creaked open the door and peered out to see of Darien was still on the couch. It was almost a half hour after she had been jolted out of her sleep and she wanted some revenge. As she crept out and into the kitchen, she heard a light snore float from the couch. Yes, Darien was sound asleep. And hopefully, he was a deep sleeper. The marker in her hand brought an evil glint into her eyes. From the kitchen she took a step towards the couch. She was still safe. With a few more steps, she was standing directly over Darien. She slowly puled off the cap to the marker and winced as it made a loud pop. He was still asleep. Serena managed to lower a knee to the floor and held onto the arm of the couch to balance herself. She lowered the point of the marker onto his face and let out a sigh of relief. He didn't feel it. With care, she quickly drew out her plan without interruption from the sleeping jerk. This will teach him not to mess with her! She slowly placed the cap back onto the marker and left it on the table if Darien ever wanted to know what he was drawn on with. She ran over to the door, put on her shoes and jacket, and headed out. She didn't want to be there when he woke up, no matter how much she would miss the expression on his face. With a giggle, she walked into the elevator.

~~~~~~

Andrew walked in and saw the papers scattered on the floor. "Darien, you have to stop making this type of mess every time you feel a nap attack." He received no answer. He looked around the room until he spotted a pair of feet dangling from the edge of the couch. He estimated that Darien had been sleeping for about two hours now. He walked over to the couch to find Darien laying on his stomach, fast asleep with his face buried into the cushion. Andrew placed his drink next to the marker on the table and shook Darien's shoulder.

"Darien? Wake up. You've slept enough. Darien? Wake up!" He shook Darien's shoulder again but with no response. This happened every single time. Andrew had no choice…but to pinch him.

Darien flinched in pain and groggily woke up. "Andrew, stop it. I just got here. I need…more…sleep."

Andrew pinched him again. "No, Darien. You have been sleeping for more than two hours. Get up!"

Darien tried to comprehend what his friend was saying. Two hours…that was 120 minutes…that was a long, long time….two hours?? Darien bolted up from the couch in a flash almost knocking Andrew to the floor.

"Why didn't you tell me before? I have so much work to do!" Darien quickly pushed his hair from his face as Andrew stared up at him, his eyes wide with surprise. Darien frowned down at him. "What? Did I drool or something?"

Andrew quickly shook his head as his eyes traveled to the marker on the table. He then read what it said: 'Super Permanent Marker – lasts twice as long as any other permanent marker!'. Andrew gulped down laughter as he excused himself to his room. "Uhh…I need to go and get to work. I just came back, Darien, so I couldn't wake you up." Andrew lowered his eyes so that he couldn't see Darien's face.

"Where have you been?"

"Oh…here and there…talking to Serena's friends…I have to go…oh, by the way, this is yours." Andrew placed the marker in his hand and scooted over to his room. Darien looked confused as he heard an eruption of laughter from Andrew. What the hell was up with him? Darien dropped the pen onto the couch and headed for the bathroom. Maybe he look like a wreck. He wouldn't blame Andrew because he definitely felt like that. Darien turned on the faucet and splashed his face with water, jerking him awake. After wiping off, he caught his reflection in the mirror…and froze. 

There was a black moustache above his lips and nose hair dangling down his nose. All of a sudden, he had grown side burns and his eyebrows were made into a bushy uni-brow. His left ear had hair growing out of it while his right ear had round circles drawn to indicate earrings. Around his eyes were big circles, giving him the look of a raccoon. To finish of the effect, were the words 'I'm stoopid' , 'Kick me', and 'Brain not included' written across his forehead. Darien rushed out of the bathroom and read the print on the pen. Permanent marker? _Super_ permanent marker?

Andrew gave out a shot of laughter as the apartment echoed with Darien's scream.

"I'M GOING TO KILL HER!!"


	4. MTDC Chapter 4

Hey hey people!!! Thanks for reviewing!! I'm so glad you guys find my story humorous…lol…because I've never tried writing stories like that. And umm…*slightly embarrassed * I know I have tons of grammatical mistakes, in this story and my **other story **(hint hint lol) and don't worry!!! I'm planning to edit it AAAALL when I finish writing the story because I'm too lazy to go do it now lol….alright!! Onto the story!!!

  
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Serena shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket as another gust of wind blew towards her. Maybe this walking idea is not such a good thing anymore, she thought as she felt her toes freeze inside her shoes. Summer in Connecticut was becoming fall with a vengeance. And fall reminded Serena of…school. She cringed as the uncomfortable feeling seared through her stomach, almost feeling like a light heartburn. Stupid life for being so boring. Stupid school for helping her boring life along. Stupid friends from school for sticking her with Andrew. Stupid Andrew for sticking her with Darien. Stupid Darien for making her feel stupid. Stupid her for making her life boring. 

Serena grinned as her thoughts formed one big circle of stupidness. She snuggled deeper into her jacket as she continued to walk randomly without marking off the streets she crossed. She estimated that she had been walking for about a little over an hour now and her feet were feeling the consequence. It was better than going back and having the un-puny Darien leap for her throat again. She knew that Andrew wouldn't worry where she was because she had called him up on his cell phone to tell him about her little expedition trip. He had wanted to tell her something about her so-called-friends but she had hung up the pay phone by then. Another blast of wind headed her way and Serena groaned as she met it head on. 

Her feet complained that she should turn back now and Serena was in quick agreement. After she saved enough money to buy a car…she snorted. Let's rephrase that one, shall we? When she saved enough money to buy a secondhand bike or something, maybe she could go further but not now. She turned around and looked up at the street sign in the corner. Currently she was on Norton St. She looked forward and brightened when she saw Elm St cutting over Norton St. She ruffled through her memory, trying to remember what she remembered about Elm St. You could almost literally she the light bulb turn on when she remembered the cafe she had been at. Maybe if she followed it to the right, she would be able to go back to the cafe and then trace her way back. Wait! Why not get a cab, Serena? She groaned. That's right, she forgot her purse. All she had in her pocket was…a dirty dime and a gum wapper. Giving a short screech of frustration she walked towards Elm St. and hoped not to become 'refrigerated' before reaching the angry glares of Darien. This was great. Just great. Either way, she could die…Stupid life!

~~~~~~

Andrew looked out the window. "Do you think she's okay? I mean…she left over an hour ago and it's getting really cold out there."

Darien snorted from under his pile of papers. "Do you really think I'm the one to ask?"

"Sorry, Darien. Let's pretend I was thinking out loud," answered an irritated Andrew. "Now I'm thinking about calling her friends and asking if she tried to walk over to their place. Hmm, I think no because she doesn't know where her friends live. Now I'm thinking about –"

Darien groaned and sat up from the couch. "Fine, Andrew! If it worries you so much…arrgh! Gee Andrew, where do you think she went?" he asked with as much concern as he could muster up. After all, it was Serena. He could imagine her out lost and clueless about the way to get back. Darien grinned. That should keep her occupied for a month or so. Involuntarily, he glanced out the window for a moment. Andrew was right to be worried, he supposed. Fall was coming up and the winds had become stronger and more gusts came through with every passing day. 

"Did she take her purse?" he asked nonchalantly, not wanting to get as worked up as Andrew. _He_ wasn't the one Serena chose to draw on…she had picked Darien. And he was _not_ going to feel sorry for that little piece of no good, permanent marker user. 

"I don't know. Does she have a purse?"

"Doesn't every girl?"

"This is going nowhere."

"I agree, Andrew. So why don't I go back to reading and you go back to what ever you're doing and wait for her to come back?" Darien finished his reasonable statement and lay back down. He had no time to search for her. His paper was due less than a week away, after all!

"Hey, Darien! I have an idea! Why don't you take your car for a spin and see if she's around while I call her friends?"

Darien let the article in his hands flew down on his face. He took a deep breath and slowly blew it up at the paper, managing to make it fly off to the side. He took in another breath. It was better than answering that pointless question.

"Darien? What do you think?"

Maybe, if he pretended that he was asleep, he wouldn't have to go out there…

"There's no use pretending to be asleep Darien. Damn it, I can see you from the kitchen!"

Darien sat up again, this time more frustrated than annoyed. "Why can't you go? I'll lend you the keys! I'll call her friends."

Andrew looked down at him as he would a child who stole from the candy store. "Darien Shields, I can't _believe_ that you're being so insensitive that you won't even spare a few minutes to look around for a cold, and possibly even hungry, little girl! How mean can you get? Anyway, if you remember, it's my turn to cook tonight and the lasagna is in the oven. I can't leave at the curren moment."

"_I'll_ look after the lasagna –"

"_No_. You'll probably burn it seeing that you _hate_ lasagna."

Andrew stood stoically, his arms on his hips, one holds a spatula while the other was covered with an oven mitt. Darien pushed himself off the couch and muttered to himself all the while putting on his shoes and coat. Andrew went back to the stove, whistling a merry little tune. A tune that just annoyed the hell out of Darien. Before exiting, he said back to Andrew, "I _really_ don't see what Rita gets in you…"

He managed to avoid the flying oven mitt in time.

~~~~~~

Serena was definitely lost. She had followed down the road of Elm St. for a little less than a whole hour and still, no little mark of places she had seen before. There was no quaint little java place anywhere! It was almost pitch black and she 'guesstimated' it to be around eight thirty in the evening. People were starting to clear the streets and traffic grew thinner with every minute. Serena panicked. It was time to switch to plan B…approach random strangers and ask to borrow their expensive cell phones because they seem like the type to help out random strangers, possibly thieves, on the street. Serena rolled her eyes inwardly. Way to go Serena. Now you just made that sound like a really lame idea. 

She saw a small lit up store at the end of the street and rushed towards it. It was probably the only store on the street seeing that the whole area was a residential place. Her hope rose as the sign in front said "Pharmacy". Pharmacies were for sick people and the pharmacists were _nice_ people who _helped_ the sick people. They won't turn her away…she hoped…

~~~~~~

Darien glared back at the people who stopped to stare at him. Haven't they seen fake nose hair before? He scowled and turned on the ignition. The radio blasted out with music as the heaters warmed up. After waiting a few minutes to let the engine warm up, he scooted his car out the parking lot and onto the street. Darien supposed that it was a good time as any to take a refreshing break from his research…that was due in half a week. He wanted to hit himself on the dashboard until he was, at least, in a coma. Maybe he could get an extension then…it was a hopeful but impossibly illogical thought at the moment. He was driving at the moment and in no condition he knock himself out. Maybe he should wait until he got home. She was only here for less than three days –_three days_ – and he was already 'affected'. Where the hell could this whirlwind be…?

~~~~~~

Serena walked in to feel the welcoming warmth envelop her. It stung some parts of her body because of the radical change in temperature. She rubbed her hands together furiously and looked around the shop. It was quaint little Asian store, neat and tidy. There were decorations with foreign languages all around the room and from what Serena could see, this pharmacy was more like Asian herbal medication. All the bottles had oriental markings on them, as well as English. Serena walked up and down the aisles, more to just warm herself up than to look at what was on the shelves. Wow, she thought, lots and lots of soy sauce here. Serena picked one to buy, just in case she had an urge to eat Chinese food one day. She supposed that it was a convenience store as well. Then a big, black, shiny object caught her eye. She almost praised the gods for the…telephone. It beckoned to her…to come closer…and closer. Serena hurried over to the counter where the phone was behind it. 

"Excuse me, ma'am. May I please use your telephone?"

The lady who was working there was oriental herself and she tried to make sense of Serena's words. "Phone? You? Want phone?"

Serena nodded her head quickly. She motioned to the phone and then pointed at herself. "Yes. I. Want. Phone.Please."

Then to her dismay, the lady shook her head serenely. "No, miss. Phone not for sale. No. Sorry. Want soy sauce?" She pointed to the bottle in Serena's hand. 

Serena held back the urge to roll her eyes. She tried again, "Can I use it?" And before the lady could open her mouth again, she hurried on, waving the bottle towards the phone, " No. Not buy. Just use. Please?"

Now she received a reproaching look. "No. You _buy_ soy sauce and _then_ use. Have to buy. Sorry. Want to buy soy sauce?"

Serena slammed the bottle onto the counter and grinned widely, more to keep her frustration. "Please. I'll buy the soy sauce."

The lady happily snatched the bottle from her hands and rang up the price. " Two dollars fifteen cents miss." She pulled out a plastic bag from a hook and shook it open. Serena then remembered.

"Umm..sorry, but I have no money. Can I use phone to get money?"

The lady shoved the soy sauce back into Serena's hands. "If no have money, put back on shelf. No sell phone for money. _My phone_!" She ended in an almost exasperated glare. 

Serena widened her eyes in amazement. This is crazy! _The lady_ was getting annoyed with _her_? Geesh, it wasn't _her_ fault that the lady couldn't understand English. Serena opened her mouth to try one more time. "No, no, no! Can I –"

The door slammed open and a whiny voice yelled, "EVERYONE, PUT YOUR HANDS UP AND DON'T MOVE."  
Serena slowly raised her arms, bottle included, and turned to face their attacker…a dorky college student…with a gun. Serena giggled nervously. Well…that doesn't really make him dorky anymore, does it? He was almost a foot taller than her and a little heavy around the middle. Serena could imagine him wearing huge, geeky glasses and a pocket protector. He started to wave his gun to the farthest corner of the store. "GET OVER THERE! ALL OF YOU! AND DON'T TRY ANYTHING CUTE! COME ON! MOVE IT!"

The lady muttered some thing that sounded like a curse and scurried over to the corner, Serena in tow. He then jumped over the counter and jarred open the machine. The lady made a peep of resistance and he quickly waved the gun towards them, efficiently shutting them up. Serena groaned. Why did she have to walk on this street? Why couldn't she stay home? Why did she have to draw on Darien? Come on, Serena! You could have gotten him back some other childish time! She closed her eyes tightly and prayed. Oh please, she begged, please let me live. I take it all back! My life isn't boring! I love my friends, I really do! I don't want to –"

His screechy voice cut through her thoughts. "Shit! There isn't crap in here!" He jumped over the counter again and strode up to them, his gun directly aimed at …Serena. She gulped and tried to push back farther into the small crowd of people but they wouldn't budge. She could swear she even felt some hands pushing against her. Great. Now she was the sacrifice! Yes, come kill the random blonde girl so the rest of us can live…just great! 

"EVERYONE EMPTY THE CASH! NOW!" He finally pointed the gun away from her and she let out a breath of shot-lived relief. He walked over to the furthest right and pointed at an old, Asian man. "Come on, old man! Open up you pockets, damn it!" Apparently, the old man managed to understand what the fuss was about. He started to remove his watch, then his wallet, and his ring. Now the robber moved onto the next person and repeated his commands. Serena winced at the sound of his voice. It screeched like a cat's claws on a chalkboard. It was _horrible_! She almost smacked herself. You're here, stuck in a store where you can't use a damn telephone, and you think the _robber's_ voice is _horrible_? How ditzy _can_ you get? He was coming closer and closer to where she was. She was broke! Then she immediately touched her earrings. The one her mom gave to her when she graduated high school. They were twenty-two-karat gold earrings with six-karat diamonds dangling down. She supposed her mom was so shocked that her daughter graduated that she went out and spent a million just for the kicks. She didn't want to lose these! Then the soy bottle caught her eye. 

Now it was her turn. She could swear he had checked her out and she held in a groan of disgust. "Give me your earrings and everything else! Move! Come on!" he yelled in her face, and steered his weapon to her neck. Serena didn't know if her plan was going to work. She tucked the soy bottle under one arm and slowly raised them to her left earring. She carefully took it out and placed it in his open hands. His mouth spread into an appreciative smile. "_This_ is what I'm looking for!"

Then, he looked irritated yet worried at the same time. "Hurry up, bitch! I don't have all day!" He kept shifting his glance to the front of the shop and then back at them.

Serena, now shaky, went to take off her other earring. As she was removing the back piece, the front fell down to the floor. Without thinking, the robber muttered a curse word and bent down to pick it up. Without losing time, Serena pulled out the bottle, took it in both hands and slammed it onto his head…only to have it bounce back up! She wanted to scream in agony. Why wasn't it glass?? Fortunately, it caught him of balance, and sent him tumbling to the ground with a yell. His gun slid out his hand and almost all the way down the aisle while the money and the rest flew in all directions. Immediately, Serena jumped on him and started to bang his head with the plastic/glass bottle. She then yelled to the people behind, "911, damn it!" 

Fortunately, this was something the lady understood and she ran to the phone. Serena continued to smack away on the screeching man while the still frightened people hurriedly picked up their possessions. Serena felt nervous again. Although she was the one with the weapon , aka soy sauce, he still was stronger and taller than her. She was starting to feel tired as he didn't quit struggling under her. Then he begged her, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Let me go! I'll stop! Ow! Stop!"

Serena, if in any other situation, would have grinned at the puny man and his quick surrender. She gathered that this was the first time he tried something stupid like this. It was almost comical to see him give into a girl half his size. Meanwhile, the other customers snatched off random objects from the shelves and ran off with them. Serena could hear the lady talking rapidly in her broken English to the operator to the other end. Maybe it was her imagination, but she swore she heard the police sirens. She sat on him and held onto his hands until the police came charging through the doors. Wow…that was pretty quick.

~~~~~~

Darien came to a smooth stop as the few cars in front of him came to a sudden stop. What the hell? He looked out the window to see what was happening? An accident? Did a dog get hit? He managed to barely see two police cars blocking the flow. Then he saw a store's door fling open to reveal three police officers dragging a tall man, handcuffed, between them. They pushed the man into one of the cars and shut the car door. Then the officer who came in that car got in and drove off, leaving the path empty for the cars to go through. The other two officers went back to the scene of the crime. Darien looked on with slight interest as he approached closer and closer to the store. He saw a small Asian lady and a blonde girl standing in front of the officers so he couldn't see them. Weird, he thought. The blonde had long hair that looked exactly like Serena's. He craned his neck out the window to get a better view. 

~~~~~~

"Yes officer. Let's see. I was in the front asking to borrow the phone –"

"No, no, no. Miss want to buy phone but I say no. Phone no for sale," interrupted the lady. The officers looked back at Serena expectantly. She said, exasperated, "I didn't want to buy the phone. I just wanted to make a call. You see, I don't live here and I just wanted to use it!"

The lady shook her head again but kept quiet, as if she was doing Serena a favor in return for attacking the robber. Serena continued, slightly ticked off, "And then I put the bottle of soy sauce on the counter and asked –"

_Screeeeeeeeeeeech!!_

The scratchy sound erupted into the air and the slight smell of rubber drafted towards her nose. Serena winced and looked to see what had happened. There was a beautiful black jaguar that had, she assumed, the brakes put on a little to hard. The action was received with honks from angry drivers behind the car. It finally drove itself into an empty spot next to the curb. Serena was about to shrug it off when the driver's door flew open to show…Darien?

~~~~~~

Darien stomped out the car and ran up to Serena. He basically ignored the police officers and yelled, "Serena? What the hell are you doing here? With _police officers_?"

Darien ignored the stares the officers and the Asian lady were aiming at him but focused his attention on Serena. Serena, almost forgetting the situation she was in, managed to just choke on her laughter. His face was still the way she had left it early that evening. After all, it was permanent marker.

She finally said, "I just wanted to use the damn phone, Darien!" 


	5. MTDC Chapter 5

Heeeeey guys!! I know I haven't been writing over the past few day - ok, ok - months but that's all OKAY now…'cause I'm back!!! *cheers and throws confetti * Hey! Don't run away! Plllleeeease….lol…anyway, this is the next chapter for the story and also, I updated the other story too so if you can, check it out and tell me if you like it (if you don't, don't tell me…lol…jk…just no flames, alright? ;) ) On with the story!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darien struggled through the small gathering, with Serena trying not to laugh. When Darien wrinkled his forehead, the uni-brow looked mushed together. One of the officers stepped up. "She was actually the one who helped catch our man. Are you her boyfriend?"

"NO!"  
"Never!" 

The officers tried not to grin as the woman and man stared at them as if they were crazy. "Alright then. Would you mind backing away, sir? We're almost done with Miss Serena."

Darien stepped back as Serena scowled at him. She yelled over the people, "What did you think I was, Darien? The robber?" 

He scoffed, "No. I was just surprised. Although, knowing you, I shouldn't be…" With that he turned around and headed towards his car, cutting off Serena's reply. He didn't want to admit that he was actually concerned as well as shocked. As he was almost about to put his foot inside he heard someone calling his name. 

"Darien! Is that you?" Darien squinted to see over the headlights. He could make out two feminine bodies…oh god. He didn't need more of where Serena came from. He wanted to sit in peace. Maybe even scrub his face for a while. Permanent marker comes of sooner or later, right? 

Lita and Mina jumped out of their beetle to see a small congregation around the quaint store. Lita caught a glimpse of Serena among the small crowd of officers and was on her way to talk to her when Darien said, "She's okay, Lita. She'll be done in a sec."

Mina looked incredulously at the whole scene and turned to Darien, asking, "What is going - Holy cow! What did you do to your face?" Darien gritted his teeth as Mina stepped closer to see his face. Then it dawned on her. "Serena did that didn't she?" 

Lita, although still concerned, chuckled. "I didn't know Serena had the talent."

Darien muttered, "Neither did I."

"What did you do this time?" Darien's eyes flew wide open. 

"Do? I didn't _do_ anything to her! I just think that she gets some kick out of this!"

Lita raised an eyebrow. "Uh…huh.."

Mina said, "Anyway, what are you doing here with Serena? What happened? We were just driving by to get some last minute…uhh… groceries when we saw you standing here." She grinned. "So we decided to stop and say hi." Darien really wished they would say bye as well. He knew that a major headache was on the way. Not that it was Mina's or Lita's fault. It was Serena's. And his damn procrastination on the paper.

"I don't know what happened, either. Serena went walking a few hours ago and when she didn't come back, Andrew sent me to look for her and this is where I found her. Why are you guys shopping this late, anyway?"

Lita grinned. "We realized that we were missing some ingredients for breakfast tomorrow."

"But you could just buy it tomorrow." Mina rolled her eyes. 

"But these ingredients are something that every _girl_ needs once in a while." She stressed the word 'girl', basically winking at him. Darien's face registered what they were talking about and nodded, wanting to drop the conversation he stared. He saw Serena walking up to them, tired and ready to sleep on the spot. Mina rushed over, jumping with excitement. "Serena, you have to tell us what happened! Oh my gosh! It looked so thrilling!"

Lita on the other hand, was more concerned. "Are you alright? Why was the police with you? Tell me nothing happened!" Serena looked at Lita's worrying face and enveloped her and Mina into a big hug. She smiled at them.

"Guys, thanks for _worrying_ about me," she said, shooting that directly at Darien, "but I really need to get back. I'm tired and hungry and feel like shit." Serena didn't want to talk at the moment because if she did, she would lose whatever energy she managed to grab and keep. 

"Of course, Serena. Want a lift?" Lita asked, pointing to their beetle. Serena, although happy for the offer, stared pointedly at Darien, who was everything but subtle. He shrugged his shoulders to say "What?" Serena said, "Thanks guys, but I'll just go back with Darien. I need sleep, fast." With one last hug, Lita and Mina departed, just as the rest of the crowd was parting (seeing that the interesting stuff was over). Darien opened his door once more and sat inside. Serena scowled before she walked around to sit in the front. What a gentleman. What a gentleman, Darien. After starting the engine, they were on the way back. Serena, for once, appreciated the silence. Looking back on what she did back in the store made her want to kick herself in a million places. How careless could she have been? That guy was big and you are a puny girl who held him down. However, it was hilarious to see him whimper like a wimp. Unknowingly, she giggled, startling Darien.

What the hell can she be giggling about? She was just involved as a witness in a robbery and she looked like she was dunked in water, her hair breezing any which way, her eyes wide, her nose ready to call it quits, and her face was overall pale. He felt a pang of concern as she finally sneezed for the first time. His knuckles gripped the steering wheel tighter. Oh, no, Darien. You will not feel sorry for that little minx. Minx?! Where did that come from. 

"What's the giggling for?" he asked, still looking at the road. Serena startled, her attention drifting away from her thoughts. She smirked.

"For your information, that was a sneeze." 

"Thanks, Meatball head. I was asking about before."

"When did I giggle?"

"Nevermind." 

"Oh. Well, I was thinking about the robber and how he was whining when I was hitting him with the bottle -"

Serena almost toppled over the dashboard when Darien slammed the brakes down, earning the honking of irate drivers behind him. "You were hitting the robber?"  
"Well, technically, yea but it wasn't like anything was -" Darien slammed the accelerator, making her fly back into her seat. "Hey! If you're trying to kill me, I'd rather do it one on one, not in a car."

Darien gritted his teeth. She was attacking the robber? How stupid can she be! She could have hurt herself beyond repair. "Did…he…have…a-a…gun?" Serena could literally hear Darien grinding his teeth and was hesitant to answer. On the flip side, she reassured herself, he cared. For some reason, that though warmed her up a little. "Well…I don't remember. I'm sure that some sleep will help me answer your irritating questions tomorrow." Alright, she thought, a million and one kicks. By watching the route, she realized that if she took a right instead of a left, she could have saved herself hours…well, something like that! Darien fell into silence as he brought the car into the parking lot. She wrapped her jacket tight around her body before running into the building. Without waiting for Darien, she walked into the elevator, making Darien dive in before the doors closed. He scowled, "You could have held the 'open' button."

She quipped, "I could, if I would."

When Darien opened the door with his key, there stood Andrew…and Ami and Rei, all looking very, very angry. Serena cowered behind Darien. "Hide me!" she squeaked. It was Darien's turn to smirk. He walked away, leaving Serena completely exposed to the killer glazes. "Heeeey, guys, "came her whimpering voice. Darien, wanting to add the salt in, said with sarcasm, "Did you know what a fun evening she was having? Walking in the cold for hours, searching for a phone, getting into a crime scene, beating up the robber - boy, it just excited me to hear about it." He could feel Serena's glare as the other three's jaws dropped. 

Rei was aghast. She grabbed Serena's shoulders and shook them - hard. "What hell were you thinking, Serena? Beating up the robber? Did he have a gun?"

"You know, Rei, that Darien asked me exactly the -"

"Answer me, Serena!" Her violet-blue eyes flashed with anger at the cowering Serena.

"Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaa…."

Ami squeaked. "Oh my gosh! You could have gotten hurt!" Her eyes flowed over her friend's body, looking for a sign of injury or a small bruise. 

Andrew on the other hand, looked excited yet worried at the same time, confused on which one to express at the moment. "That was highly irresponsible, yet very interesting, Serena. That's pretty brave to -"

"Andrew!" the two girls and Darien cried, shutting him up. Rei glanced at her watch and beckoned Ami.

"We gotta go. Serena looks fine to me and Mina and Lita will be back anytime now." She glared at Serena once more, pointing her finger at Serena. "Don't think we're done with you! You're spilling it all tomorrow. By the way, Darien, if you didn't notice, you have ridiculous things all over your face." Ami leaned forward to see what the writing read before exiting. 

With a small sympathetic smile, she said, "I think you have a brain, Darien. Don't feel bad." With that the door closed behind a glazing mad Rei and a worrisome Ami. Darien tried scrubbing once more for luck but no avail. Serena turned cold eyes on Darien, who shrugged. "What?"

"You know what! You did that on purpose!"

"Oh, quick thinking there, Meatball head." Andrew jumped between them and held up his hands to silence them.

"That's enough, you two. Right now, I have some delicious but cold lasagna in the oven, heating up. You two will sit our butts down, enjoy a nice dinner, and get some rest. Tomorrow, we can talk about it."

Serena sniffed and stuck her nose in the air. "Fine. And for the record, Lita and Mina were cool with it."

But Andrew pointed out, "But Lita and Mina aren't Ami and Rei. It's just that they care. All of them do. And you really can't frighten them like that. It's not fair to them."

Serena looked surprised. "Not fair? Who do you think was kicked out into this place, huh? (A great place, nevertheless, Andrew). I think they deserved the fright." With that she firmly folded her arms and held her ground. 

Darien smirked. "For once, I have to agree with her. It wasn't fair that her friends sent her here. Poor me." Andrew smacked him on the shoulder. "That's enough! You two will eat. Now."

After grabbing up their plates, Serena plopped on one end of the couch while Darien scooted to the other extreme end."

"You know, Darien. There are other places to sit."

"Shut up, Meatball head."

"I told you not to call me that! You arrogant -"

"Jerk? Slime? Loser? Reject? Nothing original." Darien's took a victory bit of the nasty lasagna as Serena sat back into the couch, too tired to think of a reply. Andrew sat down firmly between the two.

"You two are acting just the way you did a few years ago," Andrew snapped. Then he continued, "If I didn't know any better, I would think that you were flirting." He immediately noticed two bodies lacking motion. Serena had stopped chewing, while Darien's fork was in mid-air. Andrew secretly smiled until his ears were vibrating from the outraged, "_No way_!"

"_Get a life, Andrew_!"

"Then would you mind shutting up and just eating?" When they opened their mouth to protest, he gave them glares. And that was the end of that. Serena angrily chewed on the extremely chewy lasagna while Darien tried to look cool and postured. 

"You know Andrew, this lasagna is very rubbery. Is it supposed to be like that?"

Another glare from the chef rendered her silent. Serena huffed. Where was Lita when she was needed the most?

Andrew thought the Lasagna was just fine and he didn't regret letting Serena into Darien's life for even a moment. It was nice to have a little variety in life. Why, he hadn't seen Darien so spirited before Serena. Now he was full of insults and fire, although it wasn't exactly a great thing. Who knew? Maybe, one day, they might learn to tolerate each other. Andrew felt relaxed as the environment around the apartment dropped into silence for a long moment until…

Scrub. Scrub. Scrub.

"Darien, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to peel my skin off, Andrew. Do you mind?"

"It's permanent marker. It'll come off sooner or later."

"Probably later. Use the lasagna to scrub. It's hard enough."

"Shut up, Meatball head."

"I was just trying to help."

"Closing that big mouth would work."

"Bum."

"Reject."

"Loser."

"Son of a b-"

"Serena!"

" - anana. Sorry, Andrew."

Andrew sighed. Toleration wasn't exactly around the corner for these two.


	6. MTDC Chapter 6

Okay. This is like the third time that I'm completely re-writing the sixth chapter here!! ARRGH…. anyway sighs here it is….

A foolish grin covered her face as she dreamt of meadows with daisies and daffodils. Sighing, she laid back into the heavenly smell and sniffed in, managing to hack on the pollen taken through her nose. From the side she saw fuzzy animals flouncing towards her…why, they were llamas. Serena cooed as the tiny llama-looking animals surrounded her. Suddenly, she felt another animal behind her…creeping up to her. She wanted to turn to see what it was but her damned dream wouldn't let her. The llamas looked peaceful enough, sipping milk out of cat bowls…what the…? Serena placed her hand down to lift herself from the ground, only to touch fuzzy stuff instead of flowers…

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Serena groaned and rolled over in her brand new bed. She tried vainly to reach for the annoying alarm but only managed to shove it off the shelf. Oh well, she thought groggily, as long as it shut up. Sighing, she rolled into the middle of her twin sized, heavenly bed. Andrew had taken her shopping for a bed a few days ago, just about when Serena started to whine about back pains. Serena had felt bad to use the rest of her money on such an un-needed commodity but Andrew had insisted that she was indeed spending her budget wisely. As always, Darien went for whatever made her feel bad.

All in all, she really needed to get a job. Rei and Lita had already found jobs, Rei being a secretary for some big-shoot lawyer in the area and Lita being an assistant chef in some restaurant. Mina was currently searching for one and Ami didn't need to have one because of the full scholarship she had received. And her rich mother paid for the apartment share. She remembered how Rei had been in the restaurant with her, yelling at Serena for being an idiot for attacking the robber when she remembered her interview. She had rushed out the café like a speeding bullet on fire. And there to continue Rei's tirade was Ami, who took up where Rei left off at.

Groaning yet again, Serena sat up, searched for her fuzzy slippers, and crawled towards the door. She looked back sadly at her bed, bidding it adieu until nighttime. Back to the dream. What was that about? Llamas drinking out of cat bowls. She rolled her eyes. Dreams are at least supposed to make _som_e sense, Serena, you dumb butt. As she opened the door, it hit her.

Luna.

Oh no! Her poor kitty! She had promised her parents that she would have Luna shipped over as soon as she settled in. It had been two weeks since she had moved in and last talked to her parents. She ran around, searching for the phone. Where was it? Arrgh! She didn't notice an amused face watching her efforts.

"Whatcha doing, Meatball Head?" Darien winced at the boyish tone. What the hell was wrong with him. Here he was, a handsome, sexy, young man with an IQ of a genius and the first thing he says is 'Whatcha doing, Meatball Head?' He begged for someone to slap him right then.

Serena startled at the voice but didn't even bother to turn back and respond. She needed to talk to her parents now. What would they say and/or do when they hear her voice on the phone? Her Mom had wanted to keep it with her for company, but her dad hated the 'fuzzballs' (They're all shedding maniacs, I say!) and her brother acted indifferent, although she knew that he was getting attached to Luna.

"Looking for your brain?" Darien, he noted, has to kick self later - out of Serena's trail of vision.

Serena muttered, "Oh go shove something up your butt. I'm busy." She went to circle around the kitchen, where Darien was sitting at the counter, sipping his black coffee. He just watched as she fumbled with drawers and cabinets, searching for some non-existent object. He heard her chant "phone, phone…need phone…"

"It's right next to me, Meatball Head." Serena whirled around and a look of relief flooded her face.

"Oh, no wonder I couldn't find it. It's in your vicinity." She headed for it, her arm outstretched to grab the receiver from the wall. Unfortunately, Darien had nothing better to do than to grab it before her. Before he could open his mouth, she spat, "Don't make me draw on your face again!" She could have sworn that he would have smacked her right there if he could have. The permanent marker had faded only a few days ago and Darien was enjoying the feeling of clean. Not to exclude the returning senses of dignity and respect among his teachers and colleagues. Serena, although she threatened, knew that she would never do that again. Sometimes, it pricked her heart when a stranger would giggle behind Darien's back and then point him out specifically.

No. What was she thinking? Feeling sorry for that jerk? As if. She smugly plucked to receiver out of Darien's hand and quickly punched the numbers. She hoped that Andrew wouldn't mind the long distance phone call. Mentally, she vowed to pay him back…sooner or later. Come on, someone be home…someone…

The receiver clicked on the other end. "Hello. Denver residence."

She took a deep breath. "Mom? Hi," Serena started tentatively. Darien watched intently.

"Oh my….oh my! Ken! _Ken_! Come over here! _It's Serena_! My baby! Are you okay? You haven't called in two weeks! Did you know how worried we were? We tried to get your number from Mrs. Lockner or Mrs. Carmine but they didn't know your number – no, Ken, let me talk to her. One sec-" Serena heard the distant sound of rumbling as her father grabbed the phone.

"Dad? Is that you on-"

"Serena! How irresponsible can you be? When we let you go, you promised to be mature and responsible because after all, you're supposed to be eighteen years old! Act like it. One second, Irene. This girl needs some talking –"

Darien grinned at the shouting coming through the receiver and especially at how sour Serena's face looked at the moment, her nose wrinkled and her cheeks flushed red. She probably realized that he could hear the whole conversation. "So you're eighteen huh? Could have fooled me." Serena's eyes narrowed. Darien grinned. Inside, he knew that he was underestimating her. Her body after all, was definitely past the clumsy baby fat stage – snap out of it, Darien! All she is to you is a stress reliever, not an actual girl-woman-no, girl! Arrgh. She calmly took a sip of his bitter coffee.

"Shut up, Darien. Why don't you give me some –"

"Darien? Who's Darien? Is that a _boy_?" snapped the voice on the line. Serena winced and mouthed 'Look what you did' towards Darien, who just shrugged.

"Dad, it's okay. Darien's just a-a … friend." Darien gave a mock bow of appreciation.

"In your apartment? You let a boy into your apartment? Is Rei there with you? No, not Rei. Ami. Ami's the _responsible_ one –" Serena rolled her eyes. Ever since she had introduced Ami to her parents, her Dad became ecstatic to see her, even if it was to drop off homework. He would preach to Serena about shifting her path towards a doctor's life, like Ami, and not one that has 'And would you like a drink with that?' as part of the deal.

"Dad, I'm not living with Ami and Rei or Lita or Mina." All of a sudden her eyes started tearing up. Serena tried to hold back the urge to sniffle. Darien picked up his briefcase and turned around to shoot off one last insult when he saw her watery eyes.

"You're not living with them? Then where the hell are you living? No, Irene- Irene, stop it!" Her mother snatched back the phone.

"Why not, honey?" she asked calmly. Serena tried to hold it back, she truly did. From the corner of her eye, she could see Darien staring at her. She turned back full-faced and stared back. Probably waiting for her to burst again, she growled inside. Darien, on the other hand, noticing that she was staring pointedly at him, took the cue and left. He didn't want to, maybe because of Serena's watery eyes but then again, she might accidentally burst his eardrums if he hung around.

"Serena?"

"Mom….t-they k-k-kicked meeeeeee oooooouuut!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She could hear her Mom tried to comfort her on the other end but she didn't care. She needed to cry to her Mom. "T-t-they said that there w-w-wasn't enough r-room and they kicked m-me ooouut!"

"Honey, calm –"

"And now I'm stuck in an a-apartment with my worst e-enemy and I h-hate it!" She wept into the phone, howling like a hyena.

"I know, Serena dear." That effectively stopped Serena.

"What?"

"Mina told me all about it," her Mom informed her, almost a little smug.

"When?"

"After your 'incident' in the store. I need to talk to you about that-"

"And Dad-"

"Doesn't know. I think I'll feed it to him a little at a time. No, Ken. I'll tell you – No, not now! I need to talk to Serena." Serena decided that now was the time to sniffle a little. Just a little, not too much. Her Mom sighed with exasperation. "Serena, I've decided that the family is going to come up and visit you in your apartment in two weeks, just before college starts. You know, to make sure that you're comfortable, honey – yes, Ken, we _are_ going – by the way, honey- do you have a job yet? Mina told me about Rei and Lita. I'm so proud of them."

"Geesh, Mom, they're just friends, not your lost children."

"So do you?"

"I'm…working on it." To change the subject, she asked, "How is Luna?"

"I completely forgot! Luna is missing you , honey. Everyday, she paws at your covers as if you were still in bed. Serena, you better be ready to have her there. Instead of shipping her, we'll bring her with us on the visit, litter box and bowl included."

"So you're not mad at me?" Serena asked, hopeful.

"Of course we are, sweetie," her mother said, still calm. "We are raging mad, especially me. You had the nerve to not call us, you got into the mischief and potential danger that you did get into – yes, Ken, I'll tell you about it-, you are in a place that could be considered inappropriate, and you are responsible for putting that poor cat in miserable torture of grief. But I just think that I should spare you this once. Plus, I've already had an outlet to my anger about the shop incident- and I get to yell at you in person in time." Serena grinned sheepishly, her cheeks staining red once more.

"You're the best, Mom. Tell Dad and Sammy that I love them too."

"Yes, honey. I'll tell them that and whatever else. I would love to chat more, hon, but your dad and I are going out for lunch –"

"Yeah, of course. Sorry, Mom. I'll talk to you later then. Tell Luna that Mommy misses her baby." Her mother chuckled.

"Yes, I'll make sure of that. Bye, Serena dear. Love you." With that the line went dead.

Serena wasn't a little surprised at how her mother had dealt with the news. Her grandparents on her mother's side were incidentally from the south and as such, her mother was trained in the arts of etiquette and how to look like a proper lady. Her father on the other hand, was a New York town boy who barely managed to keep his mouth shut. He would let every emotion in his head be expressed without leaving any doubt. The lovely southern belle had met the rough 'Yankee' and it was love at first sight, well, at least for Serena's dad. After months of wooing and changing his behaviors, he finally won her hand in marriage. The years together softened her mother's strict etiquette nature and gave her father a sense of it.

Serena resisted the urge to bit her fingernails and fret over her father's reaction to all of it. He would be a lot more angry than when he caught her kissing her boyfriends. No matter how much her mom tried, her dad just didn't grasp the concept that now was the 21 st century, where holding the girl's hand was the minimum requirement for a relationship. Serena was startled out of her thoughts by the sharp ring of the doorbell. Actually that was an understatement. Hearing the doorbell was like listening to claws run down a chalkboard. She was startled to find out that they had a doorbell. Usually, her friends had knocked, or preferably, yelled.

"Coming, just one second," she yelled, trying to quickly fix her hair and robe as she made to the door. She blushed a little as she remembered that Darien had seen her like this, in complete disarray. The doorbell rang again. Serena sighed and yanked it open without bothering to check on who it was.

"Hello…is Darien in?" said the beautiful voice. Serena's jaw almost hit the floor. In front of her was a model of perfection for all woman kind, you know, the anatomically correct ones. Her strawberry blond hair fell like waterfalls past her shoulders and her wide, warm brown eyes looked amused. Her nose was elfish, almost like Serena's, her mouth was a perfect rose bud, and Serena could have sworn that her breasts were abnormally perfect as well. She caught the lady looking at her and she blushed at getting caught – especially for checking out a girl! Serena cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry. Please come in. You are…"

"Teresa. Darien's…friend." Right. Friend. Teresa's clothing definitely didn't look at all 'friendly'. Her blouse was loose in the front, showing the top of her chest, and her skirt was a few inches shorter than what protocol dictated in the subject of 'friends'. Wait- stop, Serena. Slow down those thoughts. It's none of your business as to how Darien's 'friends' dress up. Got that? Good. Serena plastered on a smile.

"Sorry about the mess I'm in. I just woke up. Would you like to have anything to drink?" Serena asked politely as the lady made herself comfortable on the sofa.

"Oh, just some water, thank you." _Just some water_, Serena mimicked quietly, rolling her eyes. Who was she, Dumbo the elephant? If she watched her weight anymore, she would be anorexic – Serena, you're doing it again. Stop. Now. She snapped on the tap and watched with sadistic satisfaction as the un-pure tap water poured into the glass. Ha. She probably drinks filtered water, you know, just to keep of the weight of germs. Serena handed it to Teresa, who took it with a beautiful smile.

"I'm sorry but Darien left only twenty minutes ago." The lady's face dropped slightly. "Would you like me to leave him a message that you came by, Ms. Teresa?"

"Oh, no need. Teresa would be just fine. And yes, could you tell him that I came by? I would really appreciate it. You see, we work as partners on this mini-experiment that Darien set up and I came by to set some times to meet each other. I would have called him but I was just in the neighborhood." She gave Serena an apologetic, yet gentle, smile. "Apparently, I must have dropped in at the wrong time. Sorry for disturbing you."

Serena gave a sheepish grin back, although she was still a little dazed by Teresa's beauty. Teresa was so nice and here she was feeling all jealous of her – wait! Jealous? Why would you feel jealous? Just because she was sexy and mature _and_ was Darien's 'friend'? I think too much, she groaned inwardly. "Oh don't worry about it. I've been wandering like this forever now. You should be thankful that you haven't seen the worst of me." Teresa chuckled at that. Not giggled, as in Serena would do, but maturely chuckled.

"Oh, I completely forgot. You are…?"

"Serena. I'm Andrew's and Darien's new room mate. I've known Andrew since I was a child so he kind of took me in," she replied. Teresa raised a teasing eyebrow at her.

"Does Rita know about you?" Serena tried to raise her eyebrow in return but miserably failed. Instead, she chose to lean in and whisper.

"I'd prefer it if you kept it within the four of us." Teresa chuckled once more. "No , truly, Andrew is like a brother to me. I don't know if he told you this but he used to work in an arcade back home and, well, I was his dependable profit. I would go in every day, rain or shine, and everyday, I would order his famous double chocolate milk shake, with the extra froth on the top." Serena sighed at the short trip down memory lane. "I used to have a major crush on him but now, it would feel too ridiculous if I even thought about that. I thought I still had a crush on him when I first came here but -" Suddenly, her eyes shot open. Teresa, who had listened to her story intently, looked curious.

"Oh. My. God. Did I just tell you that? _Swear_ that you won't tell Andrew or anyone you meet! Swear!" Serena held out her pinky by impulse and looked wildly at the amused lady in front of her. Teresa, for the first time, giggled and wrapped Serena's pinky in hers. Then she pulled her pinky back and laughed, the sound resonating like bells within the living room. Serena blushed and bashfully pulled her hand back onto her lap. "Oh, sorry about that. I tend to blurt out things –"

Teresa grinned. "Oh, no problem. Don't worry, I won't say a word. It was a great pleasure meeting you, Serena." With that Teresa stood up. "I have to say that I haven't done that since high school. A little fond memory, don't you think? I suppose I should leave now, seeing that Darien isn't here. Thank you for your time." Serena rushed behind her to open the door. Teresa looked back once more to say, "I have a feeling that we'll be great friends." Serena smiled back, waved goodbye, and shut the door. Groaning, she leaned against it. Why did _she_ have a feeling that they weren't going to be exactly chummy in the future? Maybe because you don't want to be friendly, her mind quipped. Maybe you know that no matter how nice and beautiful and smart she is, seeing that she's going to be a doctor as well, you will never be able to get over your jealousy. Maybe because she's _Darien_'s partner. Or maybe because they could be _more_ than -

"Oh shut up. I don't need your stupid foreshadowing here to make me feel worse," Serena muttered before walking back to the refrigerator. She needed to fix herself a large breakfast of chocolate ice cream with wafers. Who says that just because you're jealous means that you're gonna have 'just some water'? As if. Now, back to a problem that actually concerns you. What was her dad going to say when he finds out that she was living with two sexy, four-years-older-than-her guys in a fancy, modern apartment with no other girl with her? Time to bring out the rifle, she supposed. Serena snatched the ice cream boxes out.

Who says that Teresa was the only pretty girl on the block? Serena had boyfriends to albeit not serious ones. She could match up to Teresa any – stop it, Serena! You are going to get the ice-cream, sit your butt down and watch soap operas all day long. That should cheer you up, she thought brightly.

Rei tried not to stare as the woman walked past them, her hair almost flowing behind her. It was like watching a live commercial where the model was beautiful and there was always this wind coming from no where so that the model's hair could magically fly. Mina nudged her arm, pulling Rei back.

"Rei," she whispered, "I just saw her coming out of Serena's apartment door."

"Mina, how could you know that? She was already half-way down the hall before we got off."

"Fine. I didn't exactly _see_ her come out, but something tells me that she did, okay?" Mina whispered, grudgingly. Rei smirked at her. They were going to visit Serena at the moment because they didn't have anything special to do. Ami was, as usual, trying to cram some extra credit class in and Lita was currently working at her job. They supposed that Serena wasn't busy either.

"Why are you whispering? She's gone down the elevator." Mina shrugged and knocked loudly on the door. "Oy, Serena, you in there?" she yelled in addition, just in case Serena was in a dead stupor and couldn't hear the loud thumping of metal knuckles on the door. They heard a muffled curse from the adjacent apartment. Rei sweat-dropped.

"Mina, you have to stop being irritating like that." The door opened to reveal a slightly ticked off Serena.

"You know, Mina," she said, pointing to the little object next to the door, "there is a thing called a doorbell." Mina looked surprisingly bewildered.

"I didn't see it there."

"I didn't know building apartments were allowed to have doorbells," Rei added. "Normally, they are considered a nuisance to the neighbors."

"Considering the other option, I'd prefer the doorbell any day," Serena said dryly, staring pointedly at Mina. "Come on in, guys. I've got ice cream out."

"We came here because we were plain bored and we figured that you would be too. Oh, by the way. Lovely look Serena. The messed up hair and dead robe definitely go with your eyes," Rei commented teasingly. Serena just gave a 'dumbass' comment before all of them settled on the sofa. Serena asked, "So how are you guys doing? In your own apartment, and all? You all getting along?" Rei caught the slight impression of betrayal.

"Serena, for the last time, we didn't kick you out! It's just that there's no space and…well…"

"What?" she asked, trying to sound desperate. Mina sighed and gave Serena a small hug of comfort.

"Serena, we love ya and everything but did you notice a difference between you and the us?" she asked gently, eyeing the double fudge ice cream. Ooh…it was low fat too.

"What? Other than the fact that you all are together and I'm not with you? Or that you all suck and I don't?" she answered, slightly bitter about the topic. Then again, she admitted, she did start it. Rei smacked her arm and not in a gentle way either. Serena scowled at her and snatched away the carton near Rei.

"No, Serena," Rei said. "The difference is that we have boyfriends and you don't." Serena winced at the bluntness in Rei's voice.

"That's harsh, Rei, that's harsh." She felt her eyes become watery and sniffled. Mina tried to hid a sympathetic smile. Poor Serena. If she was in Serena's shoes, Mina supposed that she would feel the same way. Hurt.

"But it's the truth. We didn't want you to feel like the fifth wheel or something, you know? What would happen when all our boys come to visit us and then there you are, stuck in an apartment, alone? We would feel horrible. _You_ would feel horrible."

"I'm alone in this apartment too. What's the difference?" Serena bit back while opening the top of the wonderful chocolate fudge. She needed a big scoop. Now.

"The difference is that you'll be less hurt…I don't know. If you don't _see_ us leave you, you'll be happier. Like, maybe, that saying 'What you don't know can't hurt.' We just don't want to be there, preparing for our dates while you just sit around. They all go to the same college so it's more likely that the boys come at the same time. I don't know, Serena. Trust me, we only did this because we care and because there was _no freakin' room_ _left_," Rei ended, emphasizing the last words. "Would you prefer that we have kicked someone else out? You were the one who said in that café that if worst came to worst, you would find –"

"That was all hypothetical, Rei!" Serena snapped, a little abashed to remember her stupid, caring words. Taking her spoon, she dipped it deep into the carton and scooped a large chunk into her bowl. They took advantage of her nice…ness…yeah! They did. But then again, whom would she personally prefer to throw out? Not Ami because she was too shy alone. Not Mina because she needed someone to talk to, someone to help her not make stupid mistakes. Not Rei because although she was tough on the outside, inside, she was just like Ami – afraid to be alone. And Lita could stay alone but all her life, she had been alone, in her small apartment. Now was her chance to be among friends. Then she groaned. Rei knew her all too well. "Fine. You're right. I wouldn't have preferred to kick someone else out anyway. And," she sighed, "I appreciate the effort you guys took to find me a place to live."

Rei gave her a beautiful smile. "There's the Serena we all know. And you're welcome. It's the least we could do." Rei reached for the ice cream. Serena pushed it towards her and the other carton towards Mina, who politely declined.

"I'm in the mood for chocolate, not strawberry. Bring it on!" she said, grinning. "By the way, Serena. Did you just have a visitor?"

Serena's smile dropped a little. Just a little. "Yeah. Her name is Teresa. She came by to see Darien for some experiment they're doing- together." Mina and Rei looked at each other quickly, Mina's gaze laying smugly on Rei's grudging one. They also noticed Serena's lack of enthusiasm on the topic.

"You don't seem happy. Is she mean? A bitch?" Mina chirped. Serena grinned.

"Nope. She's as sweet as honey, as gentle as a baby, smart like Darien, as nice as a teddy bear, and as beautiful as Miss Universe," Serena said dejectedly. "Over all, Miss Perfect."

There was a slight pause before…

"I hate her," they said together. Mina burst out laughing first, followed by Rei and Serena.


End file.
